Former President Jair Bolsonaro was preventively arrested by the Federal Police on Saturday (22) in Brasília after tampering with his ankle monitor and with flight risk identified by STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The decision comes at the end of the trial for the 2022 coup attempt. Allies reacted with surprise, while the Lula government sees political wear on bolsonarism.
Jair Bolsonaro (PL), sentenced in September 2025 to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a coup plot to stay in power after the 2022 elections, had been under house arrest since August 4. The precautionary measure included an ankle monitor, ban on social media, and 24-hour surveillance.
In the early hours of Saturday, an alert at 0:07 a.m. indicated tampering with the device. A report from the Federal District Penitentiary Administration Secretariat and video show Bolsonaro admitting to using a 'soldering iron' out of 'curiosity,' causing burn marks on the equipment. Justice Moraes cited this as evidence of intent to flee, facilitated by a vigil called by son Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) in front of the condominium, seen as an attempt to recreate coup camps.
The Federal Police arrived at Bolsonaro's residence around 6 a.m. with a convoy of vehicles and took him to the Superintendency in Brasília, where he occupies a cell with a private bathroom and full-time medical care. The defense, represented by Paulo Cunha Bueno, expressed 'profound perplexity,' claiming flight was impossible due to surveillance and the former president's health issues, but did not explain the tampering.
The arrest caught allies by surprise: the vigil drew only a few hundred people, with chaos when a critical pastor was assaulted. Flávio rebutted accusations, calling the event a prayer. Politicians like Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP) criticized the measure as unjust, citing Bolsonaro's age and health at 70. Meanwhile, PT leader Lindbergh Farias said the video 'discredits' claims of excess.
Government supporters predict obstruction in Congress by the opposition, but the centrão assesses that the episode complicates amnesty or sentence reductions for coup plotters. Moraes ordered the defense to respond within 24 hours on the ankle monitor, with the Attorney General's Office also weighing in.
